Although there are few specific changes in CMS' 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that apply directly to anesthesia as a specialty, there are noteworthy changes that anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists should know.
Here is a breakdown of three changes to the fee schedule that anesthesiology specialists should note, according to a Nov. 13 post by Anesthesia Business Consultants on its website.
1. The finalized physician fee schedule conversion factor is set at 32.74, a decrease of 1.15 from the 2023 conversion factor. This is equal to a reduction in Medicare provider reimbursement rates of 3.4%.
2. The anesthesia conversion factor for 2024 was set at 20.4349, a 0.69 drop from this year's conversion factor, equating to a reimbursement reduction of 3.27%. Some specialties, such as endocrinology and family practice, are set to see an increase in reimbursement, whereas other specialties, including anesthesia, will see a cut in their reimbursement rates.
3. The final rule made changes to the Medicare and Medicaid provider enrollment process. A few notable changes are that there is now a provider enrollment action labeled "stay of enrollment," designed to ease reenrollment burdens on providers, requiring all Medicare providers and suppliers to report additions, deletions or changes in their practice locations within 30 days, establishing new denial authorities and clarifying how long Medicare providers will remain in the Medicaid termination database.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists released a statement on the changes, urging Congress to block the upcoming "payment cut" for anesthesiologists and other Medicare providers.